Project SHADOW: A Rebel's Retribution
by Lucy Labrador
Summary: A prisoner is chosen for a new initiative; punishment via experimentation. Sonic Adventure 2 AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Central City Museum, 2000**

Shadow smoothed his hand over a pane of glass. Behind it was a newspaper cover, framed in polished wood and preserved. He glossed over the date, it was from the year 1950. Today was the 50 year anniversary of this headline. In big letters is read 'Terrorist Attack in Central City'. The details were in small letters, which Shadow didn't care to concentrate on. But, the name in the text stood out to him. Salvator Erizo. His eyes flashed a hint of emotion for a split second, but he quickly pushed his feelings back.

He stepped away from the frame and turned around to see others waiting to take a look. This reminded Shadow he was in a museum and surrounded by others, all humans. It made him feel sick to the stomach. He grit his teeth as he walked through the crowd, leaving the display. He glanced at the display in the centre of the room as he walked through the doors. The green Chaos Emerald shone there in all its glory.

"You'll be in my hands again soon enough," Shadow mumbled under his breath as he walked out of the doors, blending in with the swarms of people that left and entered. He looked up to the skies above as he left the shade of the building. He took in a deep breath, absorbing the fresh air around him. "It's been so long…" He glanced back into museum, before he held his head high and stepped forward.

"Freeze!"

Shadow looked to the side to see a security guard pointing a gun at him. He was stood beside a sign that held a pictogram of a short person with two triangle ears sticking out of the top of the head. This symbol had a big red circle and line through it. No sapients.

"Thought you could sneak in and out undetected, could you, Sapient?" he asked and walked towards Shadow, gun still pointed at him. The hedgehog continued to look at him coldly from the corner of his eye. "You're coming with me and we can have a nice chat until the police arrive."

Shadow rolled his eyes then looked forward, ignoring the human completely.

"I said freeze! Walk any further and I'll shoot!" the man yelled. Shadow smirked as he walked forward. There was a piercing shot, several people around ducked and yelped in fear. Shadow slowly turned to look at the guard, this time glowing red. The guard took a few steps back in fear.

BOOM!

Shadow stood looking down in the middle of a crater of destruction. The front of the building was taken out. The surviving people inside looked at Shadow, terrified. The hedgehog looked up and back at them with a smirk on his face. He lifted up his wrist and pressed a button on his communicator.

"Doctor, are you there?" he asked.

"Yes, Shadow. Have you retrieved the-"

"I may have blown my cover," Shadow said, smirk apparent in his voice. A deep sigh came from the other end. Sirens blared out from the distance, getting closer.

"Grab the Emerald and get out of there!"

"Alright," Shadow said and dropped his arm to his side again. He looked back into the building again. The people inside cowered even more, backing away from him in a shaking group of fear. Shadow felt like he was herding sheep as he walked into the crowded building. The herds of people twisted and changed shape as he walked between them. Like splitting the sea in two. "Like it should be," Shadow said smugly as he reached the display. He smashed the glass with one punch, then swiped the emerald. The sirens were very close now, just outside. Many police officers ran in with guns pointed.

"Freeze!"

Shadow smirked at them before he held the emerald above his head.

"Chaos Control!"

They shot but it was too late. With a flash, he was gone.

…

 **Central City, 1950**

"This is too easy," a hedgehog said with a smirk. He was black all over with brown eyes.

"Are you sure this won't hurt a sapient, Salv?" said his accomplice who looked the same as the other hedgehog, but a dark grey instead.

BOOM!

The building several yards behind them went up in a ball of flames and crumbled to the floor.

"That's yet another building we weren't allowed to go into," said the darker creature. "So I'm pretty sure we only killed humans."

Sirens began blaring in the distance.

"Let's get out of here," said the accomplice and started running. The darker hedgehog didn't move, instead he got his guns out of his belt. The accomplice turned around. "You're not seriously going take them on, are you!?"

"Hmph. I'm the best at what I do!"

"Salvatore! Move it!" his accomplice said desperately. Salvatore just smirked and looked ahead at the emerging police cars. "Idiot! You're on your own with this!" He ran for it.

"Suit yourself. I'll take all of the glory-"

BANG!

Salvatore coughed blood over his furry white chest.

"No," he looked down in shock, a gun wound. He lifted up his hand to shoot back, he wouldn't go down without a fight. "This isn't over."

BANG!

Shot again. Salvatore dropped his guns and fell to his knees, clutching his stomach in pain. Red blood spilled onto his brown leather gloves.

"We got him!"

"Damn. I'm an idiot," Salvatore rasped as he felt himself go weak. He fell even further, his palms scraped against the rough concrete, saving his face from impact. He coughed again, splattering more crimson goo onto the floor.

Then he blacked out.

…

 **Space Colony ARK, 2001**

Shadow faced the Commander on the ARK. The hedgehog had no clue of who this man was. Although, he wasn't entirely sure of who he himself was either. It was pretty obvious that this human in military uniform was not

"You killed everyone I knew and loved when you tried to destroy the ARK! Worst of all, my family! Finally, justice is served!"

BANG!

Shadow wasn't going down that easily. He teleported behind the Commander just in time.

"If what you say is true, then I'll respectfully accept my fate," Shadow said solemnly. From the information he'd already pieced together, the Commander's claims were pretty accurate.

"You mean to tell me that you really don't remember a thing?" the Commander asked.

Shadow nodded. It was true. All he knew was that he was older than his physical body looked, and that something horrible happened on the colony he was standing on. Then hedgehog sighed and began walking towards an exit. He needed more answers.

"I just need more time, uncover the real truth," he said sincerely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Prison Island, 1950**

"Stop tryin' to escape, Salv."

Salvatore didn't listen to that advice. He kicked, struggled, stretched, dug, climbed, schemed, everything. He wasn't sure whether he'd succeed or not. The only thing he was certain of, and that was that he would not give up.

"You're really startin' to piss me off!" his cellmate yelled as he jumped off the top bunk.

"Stop fiddling with the bars, inmate!" came a yell from outside. Salvatore grit his teeth and stopped fiddling with the metal hinges on the door.

"You're an idiot if ya' think you're actually gonna escape that way," the cellmate said.

"This isn't how it ends," Salvatore said, staring forward into the opposite cell. Luckily it was empty, or the inhabitants would have died of exposure to deadly garing.

"It kinda is, if you're bein' executed in two days," his cellmate remarked.

"My work isn't done yet!" he yelled. "Just a few more bombings, and maybe they would have given in!"

"Really? This crap again!?"

"That's all I ask for! A bit of equality!"

"Which you get through peaceful protests!"

"Those don't fucking work!"

"Neither does getting yourself executed."

"Shut up," Salvatore spat.

"I will in two days," said his cellmate. "No wait, that'll be you."

Salvatore growled at the fellow sapient as he chuckled.

…

Salvatore was woken up in the middle of the night and dragged out of his cell half asleep.

"Huh?"

"It's time to go, scum," said one of the human guards that dragged him out.

"N-no!" Salvatore began to struggle, but was already weakened by near starvation. "You can't kill me! Not like this!"

He was dragged down the corridor and and into a dark room. He took in a deep breath, accepting his end. He stood before an ominous metal chair and gulped hard. The humans shoved him onto it. The hedgehog felt sick to his stomach. He'd always been the one to deal the pain, never to receive it. He hoped and hoped that somehow the chair wouldn't work, or the humans would change their mind. He closed his eyes tight, trying to block out the experience as he was strapped in tightly.

He opened one of his eyes a tiny bit, looking through the small slit his eyelids allowed him to see that a human was about to pull the lever. The hedgehog took in a deep breath and grit his teeth hard, bracing himself. Then-

"STOP!"

Someone burst into the room. Salvatore let out a breath of relief, his head dropped in exhaustion.

"Excuse me?"

"Change of plan." The hedgehog looked at the human at the door with a mix of gratitude and confusion. "He's going to the ARK."

…

Salvatore deadpanned into thin air, not happy about his transportation arrangements. Straight jacket, mask, chains, the works. He was rolled onto the rocket.

"I need to pee," he said monotonously. The guards rolling him stopped and sighed.

"What do you think you're doing?" said the man in charge The guards looked at him, conflicted. "He's just trying to escape. It's obviously a lie."

"And what if I'm not lying?" Salvatore asked dryly.

"Then you wait," the man said firmly while looking into the holes in Salvatore's mask. "It can't be too much for the most notorious terrorist in the United Federation."

"I think I left the oven on. That definitely can't wait," Salvatore said.

"Quiet, hedgehog," the man said boredly.

"It's Erizo. Salvatore Erizo," he said as he was rolled completely onto the ship.

"Arrogant little shit," the man grumbled under his breath as he locked the doors behind.

"So, where is this ARK? Across seas?" Salvatore asked.

"Oh, you have no idea, you little rodent," said the man in charge. "Sit tight. This will be a long ride. Our next destination is Space Colony ARK." Salvatore was silent. "In space!" he added mockingly. "Alright, we're ready to go."

"Space Colony... ARK," Salvatore mumbled under his breath in awe.

…

They arrived at their destination within a few hours. Salvatore was rolled out onto the deck of the ARK. He caught glimpses of the sights around him through the small holes in his mask. It was completely different to whatever he'd seen before.

"Welcome aboard, Commander," said some male voices, greeting them.

"How is my son?" asked the leader of the group. Salvatore now knew him as the Commander.

"Abraham is doing well. Really getting on with the Professor's Granddaughter-"

"Avoid the real subject at hand, why don't you!?" Salvatore yelled. The Commander, the two guards and several GUN soldiers all looked at the strapped criminal. "What the hell is going to happen to me here!? I can tell this isn't going to be a holiday!"

"Silence, rodent!" the Commander yelled and kicked the trolley he was in. Salvatore grunted at the sudden jolt.

"Let's get him to the lab for initial testing."

Salvatore's blood felt like ice. Testing? He was rolled out of the dock and down a corridor. He caught glimpse of two children, who stood watching in awe. One was a boy with bicoloured eyes and grey hair. Now that really stood out. The other was a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Salvatore glared at them with his cold brown eyes, hoping to just kill them with his stare. He couldn't stand the way they just gawped at him.

The hedgehog was rolled into the lab as said. The metal door hissed shut behind them. He saw a large, round, bald man stood at the back of the room, sorting some equipment. He turned around to reveal a rather large grey mustache, and a equally large syringe with needle. Salvatore's breathing stopped in fear. The man walked over slowly, getting closer and closer. Salvatore wanted to yell at him to stay away, but no words came out. The man fiddled with the hedgehog's mask, to reveal the criminal's terrified look. Wide brown eyes and black ears bent back in fear.

"Perfect," the man said. "I am Gerald Robotnik." He pointed the needle at the hedgehog. Sweat dripped down Salvatore's tan muzzle. "And you are now… Project SHADOW."

Salvatore screamed as the needle was dug into his sensitive little neck, causing him excruciating pain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Central City, 2000**

Shadow clicked his fingers, and explosions happened in a chain around him. He smiled in satisfaction as he heard screams from his victims.

"Revenge…" he said in delight, feeling a shiver go down his spine. "The humans thought they could subdue me forever. But now they've made me too powerful for them to stop."

"But I can!"

Shadow swung around to see a blue hedgehog.

"Who are you?" Shadow asked, narrowing his eyes in a lack of trust.

"I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!" he said arrogantly.

"And you think that you can take me down?" Shadow said as he folded his arms and puffed his chest out. "Hah! You're not good enough to take down the ultimate life form. I'm the best at what I do."

"And what is that, exactly?" Sonic asked snidely. "Killing innocent people for fun."

"To teach them a lesson! They can no longer keep us under control. I refuse to be a second class citizen!" Shadow said.

"Hmm…" Sonic looked up in thought. "You remind me of someone."

"Does that even matter?" Shadow asked boredly.

"Oh, some guy on the news. Salva-or-whatever," Sonic said dismissively.

"Salvatore," Shadow hissed angrily in offense.

"Yeah! That's the name!" Sonic said. "He tried doing what you did and was executed for it."

Shadow grinned malevolently.

"Yeah… executed," he agreed, looking at Sonic sinisterly as he uncrossed his arms and formed a large spear of energy in his left hand. Sonic looked at it in surprise. "Chaos… SPEAR!" he threw it at Sonic, who dodged just in time. "I'm giving death to all who oppose me!" He sent out another wave of spears, which Sonic had to perform a routine of fancy flips and rolls to avoid. "Oh, so you want to go on living," Shadow said through gritted teeth.

"That would be nice," Sonic joked. "And it would be nice if all of those other people could live too."

"No. They need to suffer for what they've done to us," Shadow said. "And they need to know who's boss now."

"Boss?" Sonic asked. "Like… ruling them? You want to take over?"

Shadow put a hand on his chin in thought, then nodded.

"We sapients are superior now," he said. "The tables have turned."

"You remind me of someone," Sonic said. "That Egghead wants to take over the world too."

"I don't want to take over the world! I just want us to have superiority for a change!" Shadow yelled.

"Hmm. Why not try equality," Sonic remarked. "Then no one's being treated like crap."

"No. They need to pay," Shadow said. "And if you try to stop me, I'll destroy you too!" The hedgehog started glowing red. "Chaos…" Sonic looked at the glowing hedgehog with wide eyes, then shot off down the road. Shadow sucked in a breath of air and tensed up as he held in the build up of energy inside of him. Then he ran after Sonic.

"Damn, I didn't count him being a fast as me," Shadow hissed under his breath as he felt his body ache at the strain he put on it. He caught up to Sonic, who then looked as surprised as Shadow was. Sonic sped up down the road. Shadow grit his teeth harder and ran after him more desperately.

"Stay… still…" Shadow hissed in fury, holding out his arm. He grabbed onto the hedgehog. "BLA-"

TRIP

The two of them tripped over tile that stuck out of the pavement and flew into the air, subsequently smashing into a building. Shadow gasped in pain as he felt the energy flow through him, burning his insides. He closed his eyes and clutched his ribs, grimacing and shaking in pain. He opened his eyes slowly to see Sonic running for it.

"No…" Shadow rasped, then breathed out in surrender.

BOOM!

The whole area for a mile was taken out, but Sonic was well into the safety zone by then.

"Damn that hedgehog," Shadow hissed and got up. Sirens sounded from the distance, so he made a run for it.

…

 **Space Colony ARK, 1950**

Project Shadow noticed himself in the mirror, the changes in his appearance got his attention. His black fur had red markings, and his eyes had changed from brown to a matching red.

"What happened to me?" he asked, staring at his reflection in awe.

"Just sit down, Project Shadow," Professor Gerald said, becoming impatient.

"But… my eyes… and my…" he looked down. "What have you done to me?"

"Sit down!"

Project Shadow grit his teeth, then walked away from the small mirror propped up on the counter. Then he walked over to the metal table and pushed himself onto it. Gerald already had his needle ready.

"You needn't worry about your appearance," Gerald said as he slowly pushed the needle into the hedgehog's arm. "All that matters is that this is working. My granddaughter will be cured."

"Your granddaughter," Project Shadow scoffed. "So much effort is put into saving her, and yet-AHHH!" He looked at his arm; the Professor hadn't been all too gentle with the needle as he pulled it out.

"I didn't ask for your opinion," the Professor said. "I'm done with you for today."

The hedgehog jumped off of the table and stumbled onto the floor. He felt dizzy and disoriented.

"This doesn't feel right," he said shakily. "I feel like I'm burning on the inside."

"It'll probably go away in a minute. Now get out of my sight," the professor said. Shadow nodded and forced himself to get up. He wrapped his arms around his chest, hugging it tightly.

"It feels like I have to use the bathroom really badly, but from my chest," Shadow turned around and said.

The professor looked at him dryly.

"Just get out of my sight," he said. Shadow nodded slowly and walked out, wincing in pain. There was a guard standing outside, gun pointed at him.

"Back to the cell, Project Shadow," he said and urged him down the corridor. Shadow nodded silently as sweat began dripping down his forehead. The burning inside of his chest kept increasing.

"There has to be something I can do to get rid of this," he said under his breath. He turned to the guard. "Take me to the bathroom. Now," he said through gritted teeth.

"Why? Do you feel sick?" the man asked, not sounding as if he cared. Shadow nodded his head.

"Yeah, something like that," he said as he forced his legs to step through the agony that looped through his body. They reached the correct door and he was shoved into the room.

"Make it quick," the guard ordered. Shadow stumbled over to the lowest sink and bent down over it, breathing heavily. His stomach twisted and he felt his knees go weak. "W-what did he do to me?" He gripped the edge of the sink as he slowly dropped to the floor. He closed his eyes tightly to hold back some tears that formed out of the agony that crippled him. He clutched his ribs tighter.

"Come out now, you've been in there long enough," the guard from outside said. Shadow spoke up to say something, but nothing came out but a choke of pain. "Get out here or I'll pull you out."

"He's killed me," Shadow said under his breath. The door was flung open, and the guard stepped in, gun pointed.

"Move it!"

"I… can't- GAH!"

BOOM!

A torrent of fire and smoke spewed from the door of the bathroom, scorching the wall on the opposite side of the corridor. Shadow collapsed onto the floor face first, falling unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

"This is the coolest. I'm a living bomb!" Project Shadow exclaimed. "Nothing can stop me now!"

"Says the little rodent that's strapped to a table," the professor said. Shadow grit his teeth.

"Grandfather…" a young girl's voice called out from outside of the lab sadly. "Are you sure you can solve it."

"Yes, Maria. His restraints regulate his Chaos Energy. He won't do that again," the professor said. The door hissed as it slid open and Maria walked in, looking down guilty.

"That person died because of me," she said. "Because you brought Shadow here so you could make me better."

"No, Maria. It's not your fault," the professor said. "Shadow's to blame."

"Excuse me! I'm not the one who asked for the power to explode at will!" Shadow yelled.

"Maybe I'm to blame, then. But you are definitely not," the professor said as he bent down and put a hand on his granddaughter's shoulder.

"I have to pee. Let me out of this thing," Shadow said monotonously.

"Nice try," the professor said snidely.

"Why does everyone think I'm lying when I say that," Shadow said with a forced sense of innocence. "I have needs just like everyone else."

"I'll let you out of the restraints in a few hours, when I've made something a little more permanent," the professor said. "I had a feeling that adding Black Arms DNA to a sapients would affect the balance of Chaos energy in your body."

"Chaos…" Shadow said. "That was Chaos energy?"

"I'll answer your questions later. For now, I have more important things to do," the professor said as he stood up straight and coaxed Maria out of the room gently.

 **Central City, 2000**

"You're kidding me, Doctor. You want me to go back _there_?" Shadow said through gritted teeth. "No. I refuse."

"We made a deal, remember," Doctor Eggman said from the other side of the Communicator. "If you wish, I'll call it off, and you'll have to fight against me as well as the other humans."

Shadow sighed.

"Of course… okay. Prison Island it is," Shadow said in defeat. Eggman was definitely a force to reckon with. He'd managed to break into Prison Island to begin with to free him from stasis. Shadow worked out that anyone with that much power was better as an ally than as an enemy.

"Besides, you should enjoy blowing the place sky high, knowing your history with it," Eggman said. Shadow grinned at this.

"You have a point." He took out his emerald. "Chaos Control!"

…

"Damn! That blue hedgehog again of all places," Shadow said in frustration. "What are you even doing here?"

"I was framed for one of your explosion, believe it or not," Sonic said. "Even though I wouldn't be caught dead bringing harm to others!"

"But you were caught alive running from the scene of an explosion," Shadow said smugly. "Wrong place, wrong time."

"Oh well, I managed to break out of this place anyway. And I'm gonna make sure they take you in instead," Sonic said. "You're not getting away with setting me up again, you Faker!"

"Faker? I think you're the Fake hedgehog around here. You're comparing yourself to me? HA! You're not even good enough to be my fake," Shadow said as he jumped into action. "Trying to bring equality, sound familiar?"

"You refferin' to Salva-what's-'is-name?" Sonic asked he dodged a few punches.

"Salvatore!" Shadow said and plunged a Chaos Spear towards Sonic at full speed. The hedgehog ducked, but the tips of his ears were taken off. Sonic yelped in pain and grabbed both of his ears, covering a heat of smoke rose from both of them.

"Can't stand the heat?" Shadow remarked.

"Why'dya get so defensive over the name of this Salva-dork guy?" Sonic asked. Shadow grit his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.

"And why are you trying to copy him?" Shadow growled.

"I'm not tryn'a copy the guy. If anyone's imitating him, it's you. You're the one who uses all the explosions," Sonic said. "I just try to save our own kind without violence."

"The silent vigilante, Sonic the Hedgehog," Shadow said sneered.

"Sounds better than Salva-"

"How about Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form!?" Shadow exclaimed, then leapt towards the hedgehog, pinning him to the floor. Sonic looked up at Shadow with wide eyes as the darker hedgehog closed his hand around his victim's throat. "I'm the best at what I do. You were a fool to go up against me." A sphere of energy formed in his free hand. Sonic gasped, then kicked his legs out. It got Shadow right in the-

"GAH!" He leapt up and stumbled backwards, holding his crotch in agony. Sonic made a run for it. "Yeah, you'd better run," Shadow called out for him, paralysed in pain. "Because I'm about to blow this place to pieces." At that, the blue hedgehog sped off into the distance at high speed.

Shadow shook as he attempted to regain his composure. He took in a deep breath, and let it out again slowly. Then he clicked his fingers. The ground shook as explosions began from the distance, getting closer.

"Chaos Control!"

Shadow felt a wave of emotions as he appeared on the ARK once again. He closed his eyes as he felt a memory take over his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Space Colony ARK, 1950**

"You are just too nice to be true," Shadow said. "I don't trust something about you." He looked Maria dead in the eye with a deep sense of suspicion. "You do realise that I'm going to save your life whether you're nice to me or not. I don't have a choice in this."

"Yes, I know that," Maria said softly. "It doesn't mean I shouldn't be nice to you. My mother and father told me to behave when they sent me up here, and I'll do just that."

"You're lucky you have a mother and father," Shadow remarked then looked down, clenching his fists in anger.

"Why do you say that?" Maria asked.

"They were killed," Shadow said. "My brother and I… went out to play and… when we got back…" he fell silent. "I swear. You'll all pay." He shook in anger again.

"Oh…" Maria said sadly. "I'm sorry about what happened to them. Grandfather told me about how sapients are treated and… I don't agree with it. Everyone should just be equal."

"That's what I've been saying since it happened," Shadow said. "But… no one listens. So I started yelling a little louder."

"With explosions," Maria raised a brow. "A bit too loud, in my opinion."

"It certainly got the humans' attention," Shadow said. "So I got what I wanted."

…

 **Space Colony ARK, 2000**

"Equality…" Shadow pondered as he wandered down the corridor. "No. It's too late for that." He entered the room of the Eclipse cannon and stuck 3 emeralds inside of it, keeping one for himself. "Okay, 3 more to go, and I'm sure the Doctor has at least one of them." He looked up at the eclipse cannon's control panel in all of its glory. "This will definitely get them to give us rule over them. The human's reign of terror is over."

The hedgehog left the control room again and walked through the corridor. Memories flooded back to him. He looked at the door on the far end. He stopped, looking closely at it, feeling a wave of nausea come over him. He slowly walked over to it. The metal clanked against metal as the hedgehog trudged towards it. He stopped in front of the closed entrance and swallowed through his dry throat. He put his arm up to the square control panel on the wall. His arm felt heavy as he lifted it. He grabbed onto the top edge of the box panel and put his thumb over the button. The hedgehog took a in a deep shaky breath and his hand shook as it hovered over the switch.

"Why?" he asked himself painfully as he suddenly turned away and closed his eyes tightly. "Why can't I go in there? I feel no shame about all of the other deaths but this one?"

He tuned his head and glanced at the door again. The hedgehog grit his teeth, then smashed his fist against the button. The door hissed open. But the hedgehog refrained from looking inside. His breath got caught in his throat and his stomach twisted. As he forced himself to turn his head towards the doorway, his heart rate increased. He felt it beating in his head like a drum, and smashing against his ribs like a hammer. Then he flicked his head to the left with eyes wide open, forcing himself to look into the room.

Blood stains.

The hedgehog grabbed his head and screamed in agony. Clutching at his ears and quills tighter and tighter, he dropped to his knees.

"That damn girl and her kindness. She's killing me!" Shadow yelled as he slowly curled into himself. "She must of intended this. No one can be that kind!" He choked out in pain as he felt like his skull would crack open. "GAH!"

…

 **Space Colony ARK, 1950**

"Yes, yes yes!" Shadow yelled as he ran down the corridor. The abilities he possessed felt god-like, and he smiled maniacally at the rush that came with that power. He chuckled insanely, the triumph made him feel higher than he'd ever felt before.

"Stop him!"

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow swung around and sent several spears back at his followers. A group of armed soldiers dropped to the floor, blood spurting from their necks. "HA!" Shadow exclaimed in triumph. He banged his fist against the button on the wall and ran through the door. The hedgehog grit his teeth as he launched a chaos spear through the control panel on the other side. Electricity sparked from it as the door closed. Control panels on both sides were completely destroyed.

When he turned around again, he saw Maria standing in the middle of the room. The hedgehog slowly came to a stop and his smug smile dropped from his face, warping his face into a surprised expression. The girl just looked at him sadly, but strangely there was no fear. It made Shadow feel frustrated.

"You're just impossible," Shadow said harshly. "I could kill you right here and you're not screaming like the rest of them."

"I've already accepted death," Maria said calmly. "But… I didn't expect this of you." Shadow looked at her as if she were crazy.

"I'm a criminal. I've killed dozens, possibly hundreds of humans," Shadow said in frustration. "And you didn't expect this of me?"

"I know it sounds crazy but… I don't think that you're just scum like everyone else," Maria said. Shadow grit his teeth, feeling a wave of anger wash over him.

"Why are you so nice to me!?" Shadow yelled. There was banging on the metal door. The hedgehog glanced back at it, before looked back at Maria in anger.

"Shadow you're confused, and it frustrates you," Maria said. "I understand."

A loud buzz sounded from the doorway. The humans outside were trying to cut their way through with a saw. Shadow ran straight forward without thinking, pushing Maria out of the way. She hit the floor with a thud. The hedgehog frantically began operating the control panel on the opposite side of the room.

"I can't stay here," Shadow said hurriedly. "They'll kill me."

"It's only fair… after what you did to them," Maria said softly.

"Shut it!" Shadow yelled and swung his arm in anger. Her heard Maria choke. He looked at her in surprise to see blood saturating her dress at her chest. The splotch of red grew bigger. Then he looked to the door in fear. They were nearly done cutting a doorway into the door. The hedgehog pressed smashed his fist down on the button and leapt to the side where an escape pod clamped down over him. He smiled in triumph.

"Shadow…" Maria said weakly. The hedgehog looked over to her, a new emotion swept over him. He'd not felt this from killing a human before. "Promise me… you'll use those powers to help all of the people on the planet… remember equality. Remember what you originally fought for."

Shadow opened his mouth to argue, but not words came out. He grit his teeth as he saw the humans break their way into the room. But they were too late. The hedgehog forced a smirk to spite them, but didn't feel like smirking. He glossed over Maria, who'd become still. The hedgehog creased in regret, then the capsule he was in fell.


	6. Chapter 6

**Space Colony ARK, 2000**

"Why bother, hedgehog! There's only a few minutes until the cannon fires! You can't stop it!" Shadow exclaimed as he chased after him.

"You're an idiot, Shadow!" Sonic called from way in front. Shadow charged faster, catching up to the blue hedgehog.

"They didn't give into the demands, so I destroy them!" Shadow exclaimed. "Central Government goes, everything falls apart."

"Yeah. And they're never going to accept us," Sonic swung around. "This will give them a reason to never trust us, and to always treat us like savages. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if those original terrorist attacks caused even more mistreatment!"

The hedgehog shot down the thin, small corridor. Shadow skated as fast as he could after him. This blue hedgehog was definitely causing a challenge.

"I got a buddy of mine to look into the Salva-guy," Sonic said. Shadow grit his teeth and formed a Chaos spear in his hand. Sonic leapt to the side, passing over Shadow and running on the other side of the path. "Wasn't executed." Shadow formed another Chaos Spear. "He's still not dead."

"Shut it!" Shadow elbowed Sonic in his side. The blue hedgehog skidded across the floor and stopped, laying in pain. Shadow stopped beside him. "Salvatore is dead because he failed. But Shadow the Hedgehog lives on, and he will succeed!"

"Shadow the Hedgehog is going back to Prison Island!" Sonic yelled and swiped his leg at Shadow's. The dark hedgehog made a thump as he fell to the floor. Sonic curled up, charged up in a dangerous blue ball, and shot down the path.

"No!" Shadow yelled, reaching his arm out in desperation.

BOOM!

There was an explosion at the end of the tunnel.

"WOAH!"

The yelled quietened, passed at full volume and quietened again as Sonic flew past Shadow. Shadow himself also received a wind of resistance against his laying body.

"The eclipse cannon! You destroyed it!" Shadow yelled. "You pathetic piece of scum!"

"Whatever you say, Salva-dork! I'm outta here!" Sonic remarked. Shadow's teeth grinded in anger and pushed himself to his feet. He charged towards his enemy in anger. The blue hedgehog was still getting up from the floor, grimacing in pain as he did so.

"You can't just insult and leave. Stay," Shadow hissed, his mouth twitching in anger. He grabbed Sonic by his back quills.

"AH!" Sonic cried out. That seemed to hurt more than the explosion. Shadow lifted him from the ground.

"Why mess with me?" Shadow asked through gritted teeth. "You could have benefited from me succeeding."

"Using violence would be… stooping to their level," Sonic said. "You're no better than them. In fact, you're worse."

"I'm not worse. They killed first. They killed my parents!" Shadow yelled in Sonic's face. The hedgehog smirked as he hung from Shadow's grip.

"They killed mine too. You don't see me blowin' up every joint I see," he remarked. Shadow narrowed his eyes in interest and confusion. "Damn missionaries showed up to my home village. Don't remember it fully myself but… they killed them. And, they brought me up. Gave me my name, tried to tame me, but… I wasn't havin' any of that."

"So, you're here, trying undo the damage or whatever delusion you have in your head," Shadow said in disgust. "What they did to you… to me… was evil."

"Humans aren't evil. They're just ignorant," Sonic said as he rolled his eyes. "They think we're a threat, so they've gotta make themselves look like the top tog. They feel threatened by us. It was all nonsense, until you, Salva-asshole, started makin' their realities come true."

"Oh, and you think we were all good friends back then?" Shadow said, then kneed Sonic in the stomach. "They killed my parents!"

"Some anti-sapient assholes decided to torch your house," Sonic rasped. "Doesn't label a whole species. They probably didn't even mean to kill your parents… just damage the property."

Shadow dropped the hedgehog in spite and kicked him again.

"Shadow, what's going on in there. I heard the cannon fire, but no results!" Eggman's voice sounded on the communicator.

"Now, Egghead is the exception. He's evil," Sonic said. "And you're workin' with 'im." Shadow looked down in thought.

"He freed me," Shadow said. "I owe him."

"Join me. We can take 'im down together," Sonic said.

"Whatever, hedgehog," Shadow said and walked past him with an expression of disgust.

"So, what does it feel like… to be executed," Sonic asked. Shadow was silent, he continued walking. "It's funny what information you can get when you have a genius friend. Hacked Government computers from his own home."

Shadow swung around and looked at Sonic with wide eyes.

"How much do you know?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Prison Island, 1950**

Shadow lay on the floor, a pool of blood forming under his skull.

"Time of execution, 9:57pm."

Then the hedgehog began to cough. His body twitched and his hands pushed against the floor shakily.

"What? He's moving!"

Shadow pushed himself onto his knees, looking down at the blood puddle below him.

"Green," he said, trembling. "My blood is- BLECH!" He vomited, adding to the bodily fluids on the concrete floor.

"We must been unlucky, shoot again." Shadow heard them say. He gasped and grit his teeth, but before he could look up, he was shot again, several times and collapsed again, face down in his own blood and vomit.

There was a few moments of silence, but the hedgehog's eyes shot open again. He cried out and pushed himself back, then put his hands over his shut eyes in pain.

"It burns!" he cried out. Opening his eyes when face down in his vomit hadn't turned out so well.

"Darn it. We need to try some other methods." Shadow shakily removed a hand from his left eye and looked at the humans in the room. "Prepare the Electric chair." The hedgehog's breath was caught in his throat.

…

 **Space Colony ARK, 2000**

"I know that they took like, 8 attempts to kill you," Sonic said. "You survived all of them miraculously. You're like, invincible or somethin'."

"If I was invincible, then it wouldn't have _hurt,_ " Shadow said firmly.

"Shadow! Are you going to answer me or not!" Eggman's voice sounded from the communicator again. Shadow growled in irritation, ripped it from his wrist and threw it against the wall.

"Let's get out of here, it's probably unstable," Shadow said. "Since you blasted the place," he added bitterly.

The two of them walked in silence along the long path on the outside of the ARK. Shadow kept his head pointed at the floor.

"Somethin' botherin' you?" Sonic asked.

"Nothing I should tell you," Shadow grumbled.

"You should join us," Sonic said. "We could use someone like you."

"But I thought you disagreed with my methods," Shadow said.

"Your methods are alright," Sonic said. "If they're not used on innocent people. Try… Egghead."

"You want me to blow up the Doctor?" Shadow asked.

"Nah. Just his property," Sonic said. "Until he's got nothin' left to fight with."

"So he can get more resources to fight you," Shadow said. "You do realise it would be easier to just kill him, right?"

Sonic shook his head.

"I'll never kill," he said. "Never."

There was another moment of silence.

"So, what's it like to be frozen?" Sonic asked.

"Again, painful," Shadow said simply.

"I guess you'll be tryin' your best to stay away from the Government then," Sonic said.

"Yep," the hedgehog said and stopped. "Which means staying away from you." He leant back, falling off of the walkway flawless. Sonic swung around and ran to the edge, looking down to see Shadow's slowly floating towards the Earth below them. "You didn't think I'd guess that GUN made a deal with you when you supposed 'escaped' from prison," Shadow called up to Sonic. "No one _escapes_ from Prison Island. Not even me."

"And yet you did," Sonic said.

"With the Doctor's help," Shadow corrected. "Sayonara, Sonic!" The hedgehog's voice grew quieter as he was slowly pulled down by the weak gravitational pull of the planet below.

"See ya later, Savla… Salvatore," Sonic said softly as the other hedgehog's body lit up in flames as it hit the atmosphere.

…

 **Space Colony ARK, 2001**

"You were right," Shadow said solemnly. "All of those things you said about me were true. I… tried to destroy everything in a desperate attempt to escape." The Commander stood in front of him, astonished that Shadow had even admitted it. "You were damn lucky to have missed the explosions-" Shadow stopped and looked up as the Commander clicked his gun.

"Don't mock me," he said.

"Go ahead. Shoot," Shadow said. "I'll just wake up again in a few minutes."

"If that's the case, why did you need to escape so badly!?" the Commander yelled. Shadow was silent. He gulped and looked down, feeling dizzy from guilt and anxiety.

"I was told I was going to die," he rasped.

"So you decided it was us or you," the Commander said angrily. Shadow nodded. "Coward." The hedgehog grit his teeth. "You thought that you were going to be executed again?"

"Not… exactly…" Shadow hesitated.

…

 **Space Colony ARK, 1950**

Shadow was shocked into silence over the news he'd just been told.

"I'm… immortal," Shadow said. "That blood made me immortal?"

"Yes," Gerald said. "The immortality comes with a flawless immune system. I needed to create one for my granddaughter Maria."

"Of course… that Maria girl…" Shadow said irritably, but his tone changed suddenly. "I suppose I owe her. I've benefited from this too." The hedgehog looked smug and proud, but not for long.

"Oh no. When I give Maria this immune system," Gerald began explaining. "You'll lose yours, completely." The hedgehog stared in horror. "And you can guarantee we won't be making efforts to keep you in sterile environments." Shadow felt his blood go cold. "You will die."

…

 **Space Colony ARK, 2001**

"That was still no reason to kill everyone in sight!" the Commander said, tightening his grip around his gun. His hand shook in anger.

"If it'll make you feel better… just shoot me," Shadow said and held his arms out. "I deserve it."

"Why have you become so remorseful all of a sudden!?" the Commander said. "You don't fool me at all! This is all an act so I feel sorry for you!"

Shadow looked down in shame.

"I've not quite gotten all of my memories back yet. I'm still not me. I'm still not the murderer I was before," Shadow said, his voice trembling slightly.

"And when you do revert back to that evil mentality again?" the Commander questioned irritably.

"You need to freeze me before then," Shadow said. "It's the only way that I can fulfill Maria's wish."

BANG!

Shadow coughed blood over his furry white chest. He looked down in shock, a gun wound.

BANG!

Shot again. Shadow fell to his knees, clutching his stomach in pain. Green blood spilled onto white gloves gloves, staining the material.

"Th-this feels… familiar," Shadow rasped as he felt himself go weak. He fell even further, his palms scraped against the rough concrete, saving his face from impact. He coughed again, splattering more green goo onto the floor.

He blacked out for a few moments, and woke up in the Commander's arms. He was being carried towards a ship.

"Gah…. hurts…" Shadow groaned, then gasped as he felt the wound close up. "You're taking me to Prison Island."

"Correct," the Commander said.

"I thought I…"

"The underground facilities are still in tact," the Commander said.

"And that includes… the cryo-chamber," Shadow breathed. Then he closed his eyes in acceptance.

Shadow stayed silent the whole trip. As they pulled into Prison Island, the Commander yanked Shadow up by his arm and pulled him towards the door.

"Enjoying yourself, there?" Shadow mumbled. "Have your fun hurting me now. It won't last long."

"Longer than you think," the Commander said with a smirk. Shadow looked up at him in confusion. He was dragged into a room. This one was different to the one he was expecting. There was no cryochamber, instead, there was a desk and two chairs. "Time for questioning."

"Questioning? You know I'm guilty. I confess to everything just… freeze me now," Shadow said urgently. The Commander pushed the hedgehog down onto the chair, forcing him to sit down.

"No. What you said earlier about Maria made me think," the Commander said and sat in the chair opposite. "You've changed."

"I forgot my old ways. But I know they're in here somewhere," Shadow said and pointed to his head. "They could resurface at any time."

"That's not what Maria asked of you," the Commander said. "What was Maria's wish, Shadow?"

"Equality," Shadow said.

"We can start reaching that if I hire you on my team," the Commander said. "You'll work alongside humans, and treated as if you are one." Shadow looked at the Commander in surprise. "It's time to start paying society back for all of your wrongdoings, Salvatore."

"It's Shadow," the hedgehog said as he closed his eyes. "And I accept."

THE END


End file.
